Inventory management and asset tracking are relevant to businesses and organizations for many reasons. For example, a university may attach a barcode or an identifier to computing equipment, furniture, etc. to identify the equipment as the university's property. At the same time, the university may take a record of the barcode or the identifier and of the department in which the equipment resides. Then, in regular time intervals, the university may do an inventory of the equipment to ensure that the equipment is still available and in service.
Further, a retail business may attach a barcode or an identifier to the goods for sale. In addition, the retail business could keep a computerized record of all goods in the store with corresponding identifiers. When a product is sold, the identifier or barcode is scanned and subtracted from the computerized record. Advantageously, the ordering department could receive notifications when the inventory for a particular item is low and can thus procure the needed goods in a timely fashion. Once the particular item has been procured, it could receive a barcode or another identifier as well and could be entered into the computerized record where it replenishes the inventory of the item.
In addition, a hospital or national research laboratory may keep inventory of specialized research or treatment equipment, e.g., radioactive sources. All of these businesses and organizations may use inventory management for many purposes. In some cases, inventory management ensures that equipment does not get stolen or that equipment is still functional. In other cases, automated inventory management reduces the time spent to take an accurate count of the inventory. In yet other cases, inventory management is used for security purposes.
While inventory management relates to accurate accounting of the number of equipment, asset tracking is directed toward providing location information for each equipment in addition to the accounting information. In that regard, a retail business may ensure that the goods that have not been purchased yet do not leave the premises of the retail business. On the other hand, hospitals or the national research laboratories may track the inventory of specialized equipment to ensure that the whereabouts of such inventory is known at all times. Yet further, businesses related to construction, telecommunication, natural resource exploration, etc. may have a need for inventory management and tracking of mobile assets in the field.